Customer Reviews

Great Quiz Show Scandal [VHS]

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I purchased this tape thinking that it was a PBS documentary of the exact same title made by WGBH in Boston for the "American Experience" series in the late 1980s or early 1990s. It isn't. This is simply a tape of the actual "21" quiz show in which two of the most noted of the fixed-quiz-show contestants, Herbert Stempel and Charles Van Doren, squared off in a rigged contest. This story is most ably told by the Robert Redford-directed movie "Quiz Show," which was nominated for Best Picture, and is well worth the viewing. The only value this tape would have is if someone, possibly an acting student, would have the curiosity to see the original show, uncut, as a character study of the individuals involved. From that standpoint, it is of some mild interest, but cannot really come near to the point of desirability to own in one's video library. Save your money unless you're doing a term paper on the subject.

The scandal involving the popular game show 21 burns in the public consciousness even now, almost fifty years later, and it also has a real bearing on the way today's game shows are run; studios go to great lengths to make sure no cheating of any kind is possible. This video is the complete December 5, 1956 broadcast of the game show 21, and as such it is a fascinating historical document of sorts. On this night, Charles Van Doren knocked off champion Herbert Stempel in a contest that no one watching at the time could have guessed was fixed. The greedy people behind the show wanted the uncharismatic Herbert Stempel out and the dashing young Van Doren in, and Stempel reluctantly agreed to throw the contest. I tried to watch each contestant closely through the two tie-breaking rounds featured here, especially Stempel, trying to see if either man acted at all suspiciously. Other than Stempel's soft-spoken "I don't know" on the fairly easy movie question he had to claim he couldn't answer, I saw nothing suspicious whatsoever. Stempel even made a little joke during one of his questions late in the game, which caught me completely off guard.

There is nothing on this video other than the 30-minute broadcast of the show in question, so only those with a keen interest in the 21 television scandal will find much value in it (although watching the emcee take a couple of moments during the show to plug the show's sponsor Geritol is rather interesting in and of itself).